The Pillow

Last night, I began my first sewing project. Ok. Not the first one, as several months ago (could it be a year now?) I decided to take up quilting. It was much more difficult than I imagined. Difficult in that there are too many steps and I have a short attention span. After a few small quilt tops that never met their backing, I decided to take a step back and begin sewing. And then life happened, and home buying happened, and moving happened, and mess happened, and the sewing machine and all of its companions were lost.

Until now.

A friend, the baron, showed me some of her favorite fabrics, and I decided that I would be using these fabrics to make wonderful home accessories. So I bought fabric. And it sat for a week. Then this past weekend, I went to the bookstore and bought a book of projects and patterns, and settled on a pillow. It is large, but it is relatively simple. I went to get the notions I needed last night at the behest of my husband who insists I just think about projects without doing. Now I have to prove him wrong.

When I got home, after a small bowl of my new favorite frozen yogurt, I arranged all of the tools I would need. I cleared off the coffee table (which is not an adequate workspace) and unfolded my fabric to measure and mark where I needed to cut. And then I cut the liner. It was not straight. I am not good with scissors. Maybe I missed that day in kindergarten. But I powered through. I pinned the ends together, and against the advice of the book of patterns, I began sewing by hand. Mostly because I didn't feel like setting up the sewing machine. Turns out sewing by hand is harder than walking downstairs to get my machine and plugging it into the wall, and now my fingers hurt. However, I find that ten thousand back stitches in a row is rather relaxing, and half way through my pillow liner seam, the stitches are even and strong.

I am getting better already.